Card Games

The adventure is over and everyone's gathered at the Red Dragon Inn to spend their reward. Drinking, gambling, it's a good time had by all. But only one will be the last one awake when the festivities catch up with everyone. That's the story behind The Red Dragon Inn card game from Slugfest Games. They've got a new expansion up on Kickstarter that, as they say, "has a little something for everyone." Go check it out.

Many of you out there have played Social Deduction games. If you've played Werewolf (not the RPG), then you've played one. WizKids is teaming up with Wizards of the Coast to bring you a new one. It's called Ravnica Inquisition and it plays as you'd expect. You have a group of 5-10 players, some of whom are Agents of Bolas and some of whom are Gatewatch Loyalists, but nobody's quite sure who's who. That's up to you to decide.

There's a new Marvel movie coming out soon in the form of Captain Marvel. In it, the titular Captain must take on shape-changing Skrulls who are trying to take over the world. Now, you can do the same. USAOpoly has released Captain Marvel: Secret Skrulls, where one player takes on the role of Captain Marvel while the others could be Skrulls, could be allies, or could be a Skrull defector. But who is who?

Fluxx is a game that's infinitely re-skin-able. There's dozens out there, each one tailored to what you might love the most. Soon, two new sets will be coming out. Looney Labs has announced a partnership with Cardinal/Spinmaster and they will be coming out with both Marvel Fluxx and Jumanji Fluxx.

Love is in the air everywhere that you go. Many of you exchanged love notes yesterday with your significant other(s). Soon, Z-Man Games will be doing that as well with a new edition of the classic, Love Letter.

The zombie apocalypse is upon us. Everyone is looking to get out alive, as well as save as many others as they can. But not everyone will be able to make it, and eventually, everyone might succumb to the zombie plague. At least, hopefully some might survive. Who does and how many is up to you in Ezcape, a new zombie survival card game that's up on Kickstarter now.

Indie Boards and Cards has launched a Kickstarter campaign for Aeon's End: The New Age. It's a new expansion to their Aeon's End cooperative deckbuilder card game, and offers all new content in the form of the Expedition Mode. There's all sorts of new cards as well, all of it fully compatible with previous sets from the game.

KeyForge was the first card game to have entirely unique decks. No two in the world were alike. The deck you have is not the same as the one your friends have. Now, even more unique decks will be hitting shelves, as Fantasy Flight has announced Age of Ascension, the first expansion set for the game.

The second in the Nippon series of card games from Renegade Game Studios, Hokkaido continues on the fundamentals of the game, but further expands on them. The Lords and Ladies of Honshu have beheld the mountains of Hokkaido and are looking to expand their way forth.

And yeah, the image says "Coming Soon." But that's what they had on the website. Today's the release date.

If you're out there looking for crystals of power, having a good working knowledge of rocks and gems can bring you a distinct advantage. That's why the Gem Clan in Crystal Clans feels they are the ones that will come out ahead in their contest. In this preview, we get a look at some of the cards that will be available to them when their set is released. So, get out your little jeweler's eyepieces. Let's have a look.

What's better than getting a game? Getting it right at release? What's better than getting a game right at release? Getting free promo stuff to go with it. That's what you can get with Osprey Publishing and their upcoming Judge Dredd: The Cursed Earth card game. Pre-orders made before Feb. 21st will get a set of promo cards for the game.

The Moon Clan is the focus again for a Crystal Clans preview (as opposed to the Moon Moon clan, which just involved strange doggos). We get a look at some more of the pirates and sea monsters that you will be getting in this set. Best not be going overboard.

Humanity is headed to Mars. Well, eventually, anyway. We can't get there right in one go. There's lots of steps along the way, and everyone's racing to be the first to make those steps. You'll be part of that race if you join in on Mars Horizon: Blast Off, a new card game that's up on Kickstarter now.

Many games have mechanics where you can put upgrades on stuff in your forces. Attachments or somesuch that makes your piece better. In the upcoming set for Star Wars: Destiny, Fantasy Flight is headed in the other direction. It will include Downgrades that you can play on your opponent's cards in order to hamper them. In this preview, we get a look at some of them that'll be coming in the set.

With card games, one of the ways you can play is by simply opening up some packs and building with whatever you might find inside. This drafting format makes players think differently about their decks, basically having to work with what they're given in a short amount of time. Fantasy Flight is creating a new draft pack for their Star Wars: Destiny game, and they're showing off what you can find inside.

Mystic Vale is an interesting take on the deck-building genre, as you actually change your cards in your deck, instead of changing the overall count of cards in the deck itself. In the physical world, this relies on sleeved cards that you'll insert transparent other cards into. However, in the Digital version that's available now, it is as simple as changing the cards for "real." You can download and play this version now.

When it comes to acquiring and knowing about crystals, you'd think that someone that's in the Gem Clan would have a bit of an advantage. They know about shiny rocks and they're going to make sure that they are the ones that get the power crystals before anyone else. In this preview for Crystal Clans, we get a look at just who the Gem Clan can field, and how they'll go about becoming the greatest clan of them all.

Most of you out there have probably played a Deck Builder game. You know, you have a small, basic, and usually standardized deck, and as the game goes on, you build it up. Shake Up is the reverse of that. You get a large, unfocused deck to begin with, and you've got to trim it down and make it work the way you want. I... really like that idea, actually. *goes to look more into this on their Kickstarter, and thinks you should, too*

Kingsburg from Z-Man Games is getting a new expansion. Its sixth, in fact. In this one, like the regular game, you'll be trying to decide the best use of resources for the town. But there's a twist that will have everyone on their toes before the final planning is done. What could it be? Have yourself a look in this preview.

What do these songs have in common? They didn't get it right on the first take. Battle of the Bards didn't get it quite right on the first take, either. But that's ok. This second one is much, much better. They've relaunched on Kickstarter and are already over their funding goal.

Also: I SERIOUSLY want that badger artwork from the cover photo as a tattoo, bucause it's amazing.

Renegade Game Studios isn't just working on one new expansion for Bargain Quest. They're working on two. Chaotic Goods looks to bring you 13 new heroes and 9 new employees. Meanwhile, Solo Mode... well, it's kinda right there in the title, isn't it? It'll let you play the game when the rest of your group doesn't show up to game night.

"Man, the world of board games, especially about stuff with crowdfunding would be an amazing premise for a movie."

You're right! It would be! And Michael Lovan would agree. He's the writer/director of Murdy Bury Win, a dark comedic thriller about three independent board game developers who get sucked into a world of intrigue when their crowdfunding campaign for their new game doesn't go quite as they expected. The campaign looks to fund post-production, and there's even copies of the original board game made for the movie available as part of it. Have yourself a look.

I love a well-tended garden. Be it just about any form, a nicely maintained and manacured bit of natural space is just wonderful to me. So, already, I'm interested in Narabi. Z-Man Games has posted up a new preview and is currently taking pre-orders for this serenity-seeking card game.